Regulation Tyranny

This column is from a fed up and angry private sector business owner who also serves in the Pennsylvania State Senate.

I will be diplomatic – but fully realize that I get to see firsthand each and every day how Harrisburg and Washington are out of control with regulations on businesses.

It also seems like federal regulations coming out of Washington are being fired from a rocket launcher every single day.

I made a decision to run for the Pennsylvania State Senate because I was sick and tired of new regulations being piled onto my businesses every year for the last 30 years.

2015 was a record setting year for new regulations – as of Dec. 31, 2015 there were 81,611 pages of federal government rules, proposed rules and notices – this number DOES NOT include regulations in Pennsylvania.

At my waste company we have a MINIMUM of 60 State and Federal compliance requirements and regulations that we have to comply with either daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.

In fact, last year my waste company hired a compliance manager to handle all of the reporting and paperwork.

In the May 10 issue of Forbes magazine Steve Forbes wrote an article that stated, “The Obama administration has let it be known that the White House and the regulatory agencies will be issuing a blizzard of new rules and decrees in the waning months of his miserable regime.”

Forbes goes on to say that, “The President long ago grasped that you don’t have to seize the means of production: you simply smother companies and industries with rules and regulations – preferably vaguely written to give bureaucrats wide discretion – so they survive only at your sufferance.”

Steve Forbes’s words are powerful and very true – as a private sector business owner I know first-hand all about choking regulations.

Our website will need to be accessible to anyone with a disability (that includes people who are blind or deaf). Blind people use equipment called “screen readers” and the screen readers need to be able to work with our website software.

There have already been multiple lawsuits against companies who do not have websites that are ADA compliant.

Career politicians and career bureaucrats, many who are lawyers, simply don’t get it – all they understand is – “Let’s choke every business in America – they can deal with all of the regulations.”

The newest and latest genius idea out of Washington DC is the third bathroom requirement for transgender people – it is all over the news.

Also, Washington is enacting regulations on overtime pay for salaried employees – many businesses factor in some portion of overtime into salaries and also bonuses are paid to recognize outstanding performance and efforts.

There are four types of regulations – Good Regulations, Bad Regulations, Stupid Regulations and Over Regulations.

These are all regulations that effect a company that you may own or a company you may work for.

I think everyone would agree that good regulations are needed. The other three are not needed.

If we don’t stop all of this regulation madness – private sector businesses will have seen their best days.

The irony of all of the regulations impacting businesses in America is that virtually all of the people who are behind these regulations have never owned a business, started a business, taken a risk, or signed the front of paychecks.

The King of destroying businesses in America is Barack Obama – he is on a mission and he will not stop at anything.

The best example is what President Obama and regulators have done to the coal industry in America.

It is simple – too many regulations cost lots of money – lots of money that could and should go to creating jobs and providing good wages to current employees.

Businesses are being choked with rules and regulations – when are politicians and bureaucrats going to wake up and realize that they are killing jobs in America?

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One thought on “Regulation Tyranny”

Well, this is part of the fascism we live with. Large companies and combines of companies can lobby to get exemptions for themselves, and they collude with the State to squeeze out their smaller competitors and take over their share of the market. They can also afford to deal with the cost of compliance.
That nexus of the State and large business is, what, again, boys and girls? Fascism! Yes, very good!